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Lionel Messi, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, have been two of the standout performers in the decade that was 2010-2019.
The all-time record scorers for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, Messi and Ronaldo are the only duo to score 300 or more Liga goals and 100 or more goals in the UEFA Champions League.
The two prolific scorers have each hit a record 8 hat-tricks apiece in the Champions League and hold the records for most group-stage goals (Messi) and knockout stage goals (Ronaldo).
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Messi and Ronaldo form are the only active pair of players to have scored 50 or more hat-tricks for club and country, each of the them having registered the two highest tallies of Liga hat-tricks with 35 and 34 respectively.
On that note, here are 3 unique milestones of Ronaldo which look likely to elude the diminutive Argentinian before he hangs up his boots for good.
#1: Score for two different winning teams in the Champions League final
Part of an elite group of players to have won the UEFA Champions League for multiple clubs, Cristiano Ronaldo is the only one to score for two different winning teams in the final of the competition.
The Portuguese maestro scored for Manchester United in the 2007-08 final against Chelsea and also scored for Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid in the 2013-14 final and against Juventus in the 2016-17 final.
Messi has scored for Barcelona intwo Champions League finals, 2008-09 and 2010-11 - both for Barcelona against Premier League side Manchester United.
With Messi unlikely to part company with Barcelona any time soon, this record of Ronaldo looks outside the grasp of Messi.
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#2: Win top-flight titles in more than two top-5 leagues
Ronaldo is the only player to win top-flight titles in three Top 5 leagues - England (Manchester United-3), Spain (Real Madrid-2), and Italy (Juventus-1).
Whereas Messi has won more top-flight titles (7), all of the Argentina captain's triumphs have come in Spain's La Liga with Barcelona.
Despite no apparent dearth of suitors, Messi is unlikely to move from Barcelona any time soon as the Argentine has expressed his 'happiness' at the Catalan club on numerous occasions.
# 3: Win a major international trophy
The only player to score in 4 different European Championships (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016), Cristiano Ronaldo ended 12 years of trophy drought in national team colours when Portugal lifted the European Championships title at Euro 2016 following a 1-0 victory over France.
Ronaldo had lost his first major international final at Euro 2004 when Portugal fell by a solitary goal to Greece in the title match. Since then, Ronaldo has also won the 2019 UEFA Nations League for Portugal.
Messi, on the other hand, is yet to lay his hands on an international trophy for Argentina, falling short in 3 major finals - 2014 FIFA World Cup (Germany), 2015-16 Copa America (both against Chile). It is fairly likely that one of the most prolific scorers in club football may end his career without international silverware.
However, this is one milestone that Messi may still realistically arrive at with one last-ditch attempt.
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